Matt Stuart is a British documentary, street photographer who focuses much of his work within London. Stuarts most renowned London based street photography ‘All That Life Can Afford’ captures candid shots of the city’s inhabitants during their daily tasks from 2002 to 2015. Within his shots, Stuart materialises moments within London’s busy society which disappear in a matter of seconds, creating a true sense of urban living within his photographs. During the past twenty years of shooting street, Stuart has acquired the key skill which all street photographers work towards, being inconspicuous while shooting right in front of his subjects, often capturing natural, candid images.
Stuart’s use of equipment helps him camouflage into his environment to get in-the-moment shots which use composition, colours and light to his advantage. His main choice of camera consists of a Leica MP rangefinder with a 35mm f/1.4 lens, meaning he gets a compact and silent set up which creates detailed shots, with smooth operation. Adding to this, Stuarts use of film within his street series creates a stronger bond from himself and the subject which isn’t achieved when using a digital camera, due to Stuart focusing solely on the scene and not on the shots already taken. Stuarts use of Fuji Superia 400 35mm film creates fast enough exposure times which is versatile in a range of light during the day, without approaching too many situations where the iso isn’t fast enough. To focus quickly and accurately, Stuart uses a technique known as ‘Zone Focusing’ which is the ability to pre-focus the camera lens so when an interesting scene occurs, all Stuart has to do is frame up and fire the shutter. In Stuart’s case, he sets the shutter speed to 1/500 to prevent motion blur and then sets his aperture to f/11 on a sunny day, meaning most of the background would be in focus, creating a classic photojournalism style. After setting aperture and shutter speed, Stuart then decides on the distance in which his subject will be from the camera. Usually Stuart decides on setting the lens at 12 foot, which means that anyone standing more than six feet away from him would be in focus; if the subject moves closer towards him, then he only has to turn the focus ring accordingly.
Stuart’s work captures an essence of culture within London which I haven’t seen from another photographer; his use of colour provides another element within his shots which gives a vintage feeling within his shots. ‘All That Life Can Afford’ gives the viewer an insight into how Stuart views the busy city, with a strong notion of humour within his shots, such as an elderly man yawning in front of a NOW 50 cd advertisement or a low shot of a pigeons feet walking in unison with bankers and tourists. Stuart seems to become ‘at one’ with the urban environment, spending large periods of time in just one position and place, waiting for that decisive moment which makes the shot. Stuart has stated that most some of his most renowned images have taken anything from thirty minutes to a couple of months to produce, as he has a vision of what the final image can be and is willing to dedicate his time to it. London as a location is great for street photography as you able to capture interesting scenes from relatively any time of the day as long as you have a vision of what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it.
Joe Haines 